Phoenix is officially starting the process to rename two streets long criticized as offensive and racist.
In two separate votes, the City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to initiate the process to change the names of Squaw Peak Drive and Robert E. Lee Street in north Phoenix.
Both street names are widely considered offensive — squaw is a derogatory word for Native American women and Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate Army in the Civil War.
The street names have long been a source of debate in Phoenix and were actually what spurred the council to approve a 2017 policy change that allows the city to rename derogatory or controversial street names without resident approval.
'Time to change the s-word'
The vote was brought to the council after Mayor Kate Gallego and Councilwoman Thelda Williams submitted a letter on June 19 to City Manager Ed Zuercher requesting to initiate the process.
The letter states that because squaw has historically been used as a "demeaning and degrading word for indigenous Native American women," it should not be the name of a Phoenix street.
Piestewa Peak was renamed from Squaw Peak in 2003 to honor fallen soldier Lori Piestewa, but the road at its base it was never changed.
Gallego and Williams in their letter suggested it could be renamed"Peak Drive" or "Piestewa Peak Drive."
Patti Hibbeler, CEO of the Phoenix Indian Center, said she supported changing the name in 2017 when the council's policy was adopted, and she supports it now. Like many other native women who spoke, she refrained from saying the word 'squaw.'
"It is time to change the s-word on the street to match the name of Piestewa Peak. The s-word continues to be one that is highly derogatory and of the sexual nature to American Indian women, and one that continues to be used as a negative tool, as a weapon, to make us feel less than human," Hibbeler said.
'Historial institutions of racism'
Gallego and Williams suggested renaming Robert. E. Lee Street "Freedom Street" or "Justice Street."
"Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general who represents historical institutions of racism and slavery in America, so the Phoenix street, which was named during the Civil Rights movement, of his namesake is offensive and derogatory," the letter stated.
Councilman Carlos Garcia said although he thinks this change is "low-hanging fruit and something obvious we should've done a long time ago," he's happy to see it happen now.
"I want to thank the #Blacklivesmatter movement. I think without the work and the actions across the country, this wouldn't be happening," Garcia said. "Now that we're making this action, I hope that we also start looking at policies that actually change the daily lives of indigenous people and particularly indigenous women."
Garcia suggested the city look into land acknowledgment in a public park or another public area to acknowledge that the land was taken from indigenous people. He also said the city needs to be paying close attention to and responding to the demands of Black Lives Matter.
Before casting his vote in support of the change, Councilman Jim Waring recited a Ulysses S. Grant quote about Robert E. Lee that he said illustrated how he felt about Robert E. Lee Street.
"I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe, who had fought so long and valiantly and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was I believe one of the worst for which a people ever fought and one for which there was the least excuse," he recited.
What the process will look like
The city Planning and Development Department will next conduct a review including considering comments from the U.S. Postal Service and the fire, police, water and street transportation departments.
In the next 21 days, the Planning and Development Department will mail the first notice to affected residents, businesses and property owners to inform them of the proposal to change the name of their street.
Phoenix must hold two community meetings for residents to have their say. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those meetings will be conducted virtually. There will be a total of four public meetings, two for each street.
Within 90 days of the initiation vote, an item on the proposed street name change will be placed on a council meeting agenda. Two weeks before that meeting, affected residents will receive a second mail notice informing them of the date, time and location of the council meeting, which will be in early October.
City will cover residents' costs
Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who voted against the 2017 policy, said he strongly supported changing the street names, particularly Squaw Peak Drive. However, he doesn't believe it should be a burden to residents who will have to change their information, he said.
He asked that the city cover all fees for them, such as what it may cost for residents to change their driver's licenses, passports, business cards, letterheads and anything else they may need to change on their own.
"I don't think it's anyone's fault in that neighborhood or on that street that this has happened to them," DiCiccio said. "And I don't think it's fair for the city to be asking them to pay for any changes or anything else like that."
Council members agreed that the costs should be covered by the city and not the impacted residents.
Zuercher, the city manager, said he has assembled a team of city officials and employees who will be available to walk residents through the process. He assured council members that there will be help for residents who may be confused about changing their information.
If the name change is approved, Phoenix fees related to changing a street name would be waived for all affected property owners.
The Planning and Development Department would notify all needed services of the change, including the Postal Service and the city's police, fire, city clerk, finance, law, water services, street transportation and neighborhood services departments.
The Maricopa County Recorder, Maricopa County Assessor, Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, Southwest Gas, Cox Communications, Century Link, Federal Express, United Parcel Service, and private mapping services such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, MapQuest and Wide World of Maps also would be notified about the change by the city.
"peak" - Google News
July 02, 2020 at 09:26AM
https://ift.tt/2ZwAHuj
Phoenix starts process to rename Squaw Peak Drive and Robert E. Lee Street - AZCentral
"peak" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2KZvTqs
https://ift.tt/2Ywz40B
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Phoenix starts process to rename Squaw Peak Drive and Robert E. Lee Street - AZCentral"
Post a Comment